Sunday, June 30, 2013

Oriya me!

Though my marriage doesn't let me be an Oriya, I am an Oriya by birth, by heart and will ever remain so. Also, this makes me an Oriya food lover. However, I do not get much of a chance to cook Oriya food at home as my hubby is fond of north Indian cuisine only. Now, it's a different thing that making north Indian food is a lot easier compared to Oriya food. :) :) Since some days or rather months, I was craving for it. Recently, one of my colleagues pointed me to a good Bengali restaurant. So, this Sunday, I somehow persuaded my husband to take me there for dinner. It was either for love, sacrifice or sympathy that my husband willingly took me there. I had accidentally burnt my hand in the afternoon while working in the kitchen. So, I assume that the sympathy would have come from there. Whatever the reason might be, I was super excited.

So, we landed at the restaurant called Iti. It was an orange and green themed restaurant which was quite nicely done. It looked so Bengali and so authentic. There was this nice Bengali music being played at the background. The waiters talked only in Bengali unless you ask them not to. There was the nostalgic aroma of fish which I still loved even though I had become a vegetarian. I felt I was close to home. At least, I liked the feeling of being in east India. I kept admiring the restaurant in my mind not daring to share it with my husband. Suddenly, a thought came to me out of jealousy or I don't know what. I thought, why not an Oriya restaurant with an Oriya theme. How about having postures of Sambalpuri and Odissi dance in the background and some carvings in clay too? Why not some Pipili hangings and Patachitra paintings? With typical Oriya food being served followed by our special Chenapoda sweet, it would literally be heaven on earth. I kept on imagining only to be pleasantly interrupted by the Bengali waiter. So my double egg roll had arrived. I liked it even though it was oily. My hubby had his paneer roll with utter distaste. It was followed by deserts such as raskadam and mishti dohi. I enjoyed both of them and my husband had no option but to eat it with dissatisfaction. While I liked the food, I didn't feel very happy about it as I felt I had dragged my hubby boy here. Then, I decided to close my eyes and just concentrate on the food I had been craving for. It felt awesome. Finally, I concluded that I would share my joy by writing a blog. All the foodies out there would definitely understand me. :) :) :) Isn't it?